Hollow Victory
by Vulaan Kulaas
Summary: Magolor has fallen, and the universe has been saved from his attempt at conquering it. Unfortunately, its salvation was paid with a heavy price. A tragic, alternate ending for Kirby's Return to Dream Land.


A/N: Hello ya'll! Here's another one shot with Meta Knight and Kirby...however...this one is sadder than the other two, so be sure to bring tissues! Enjoy!

...You sadistic monsters...I'll be drinking a mug of your tears, just you wait! Just you wait...

Before you guys start saying Meta Knight is OOC I wanted to explore his vulnerable side, the side of him that many people try to avoid. We've seen his caring and paternal side, but what about that other side of him that makes him relate to us?

Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to Kirby, because if I did I would be a rich person.

* * *

"Meta Knight, are you ready to defeat Magolor for good poyo?" Kirby asked confidently , while the Halcandran hovered above the gang. The battlefield was silent as the grave, no wind will blow unless it was from attacks flying through the air. Kirby looked upon the traitor, and wasn't surprised to see him floating there without a care in the world.

"Indeed, young one." The knight rumbled softly. Magolor smiled viciously, and let out a cruel chuckle as he eyed the two warriors.

"Oh my goodness...how sweet. I'm going to enjoy killing you all. But, my dear foes...the child will be disposed of first." He rasped, enjoying the look of fear that was present on the pink hero's face. Swallowing, he pressed himself against the knight's side for comfort.

Meta Knight froze, and uttered softly but dangerously "You will not harm this child, you traitor!" He pushed the boy behind him a little, for he would stay by his side no matter what happens. Sadly, he would soon learn that his protection would be in vain.

With that, the battle started and it continued until Magolor arose in his new form. Ducking, dodging and attacking. Rinse, lather and repeat. The battle seemed to take ages, and the group of four was becoming quite exhausted. Huffing behind his mask, the winged being was barely able to fly since that monster had crushed one of his wings;therefore breaking bones and leaving that wing almost useless. Looking upon the Halcandran's new, more monstrous soul form had the knight wondering if they would be able to defeat this menace.

* * *

It was finally near the end of the battle, and the menace that had stabbed them in the back growled "I'm going to perish. But, I'm going to make sure one of you die as well!" Before anyone could react, the monster's clawed fingers shot out to impale someone. Someone like Meta Knight. Kirby didn't stop to think about what he was doing, for his red feet was already making him rush towards his father figure. Just a little bit more! With a mighty shove, the hero knocked him out of the way...with him being impaled instead. Time seemed to stop after this, with everything being silent until he came back to his senses. With an evil laugh, the villain slowly pulled them out of the fatally injured child.

"NO!" He roared, diving down to catch the child before he slammed onto the ground. The boy vomited up blood, shaking and whimpering at the searing pain in his stomach. The red liquid was running down onto Meta Knight, but he didn't care at the moment. He had to do something, but the puncture wounds were just too large for Kirby's small body.

"Kirby, stay awake." He ordered while wrapping him up in his cape. He began to press down onto the wounds, but there was a small voice in his head that was telling him it was far too late.

The pain stricken child whimpered "...I'm sorry...poyo..I..couldn't...let my..daddy die."

"It's alright, Kirby. Everything's going to be alright, I swear." He struggled to keep his emotions in check, for he could see the pool of crimson was increasing. No, this...this couldn't be happening! It was just a nightmare he would be waking up from. But...the feel of Kirby's blood soaking into his gloves told him he wasn't dreaming, it was cruel reality. And he knew that once the child took his last breath, he wouldn't be able to hear him talk again.

"I'm...getting cold...Meta..Knight...I'm scared. Will I go...to heaven poyo?" Kirby whispered, the life slowly fading from his eyes. The child shook slightly from fear, but he still held onto his father figure with the last of his remaining strength.

"Y-Yes Kirby...of course you are. You're a hero." The knight whispered, feeling a lump in his throat. He could feel his eyes burning, but he felt a tear slowly run down his face. It hurt to breathe, for he felt like Magolor had stabbed him instead and his heart was being ripped out of his body.

"It's...okay...poyo...I'll...watch after you...like how a son should...right?" A tiny stub clung onto Meta Knight's, and he could only watch helplessly as he bled out. Before the life left his blue eyes, he used his last breath to utter the words that felt like a punch in the gut "I...love you..daddy." He stared in stunned disbelief as Kirby's stub went slack in his. Silence rang through the battlefield, with the king and Bandanna Dee staring in utter horror, almost if their eyes couldn't believe what they were seeing.

No...No...this...this was some sort of sick joke! He was going to wake up, and he would see the child chasing after something as usual. "Kirby...no...wake...up...you're not the one that was supposed to have died!" He rumbled, shaking as he closed the boy's eyes. "I'm...so sorry...I failed you." He whispered, then froze as he heard sinister chuckling.

"Yes, what a shame that a father failed his son. Look at how utterly pathetic you're acting." The dark being snickered, enjoying the sight of the dead child. "At least that little no good brat is out of the picture-"

He was cut off as the knight slowly stood, Galaxia trembling in his gloved stub from rage and pain. Looking upon the monster had Meta Knight's eyes a dark red with rage, the color glowing from the intensity of the emotion. And the worse thing about looking at Magolor was the fact the bastard was _grinning!_ Breathing heavily, the knight snarled in fury "You...you no good, back stabbing, _murderous son of a Scarfy!"_ Letting out a roar of pain and pure rage, Meta Knight flew at the being. He didn't care if he was hurt in the process, or even died himself.

He had emotionally hurt Kirby before the battle.

He had harmed, and then _murdered_ the child in cold blood. And he had the gall to _smile_ about it, like it was the funniest thing in the world!

A carefree, happy-go-lucky little boy...slaughtered like an animal.

Remembering that in his mind's eye, Meta Knight's rage increased. _Magolor was going to_ _pay the price, and he would_ _pay with his life._ This, he vowed darkly.

No matter how desperately the fiend fought him to escape his wrath, vengeance will be his.

* * *

Meta Knight flew towards the murderer, his face twisted into a snarl behind his mask. There would be no escape for him, no matter how much he begged. However, he had to quickly halt and rush away for Magolor had unleashed his black hole attack and...good Nova! It was trying to draw him in so quickly, and he knew if he got caught up in it...well, it most certainly wouldn't feel all that great. 'You monster! Trying to delay your own death, hmm? Well, once I'm finished with you I'll have you begging me to end your miserable existence!' He thought to himself, feeling a rush at the thought of avenging Kirby. His poor child. He stopped as the black hole closed up, and he knew it was his chance. Rushing up to him, Galaxia looked like it was shining with glee as it slashed the monster's side.

Magolor roared in pain, swiping at Meta Knight. He dodged it, and kept on attacking. However, he had to rush off once more because of the inter-dimensional rifts. Ducking and dodging, they resembled thorny vines and one of them blindsided him. Due to the force of the hit, he was slammed onto the ground with a pained grunt. He felt his blood run down his side, and the gash was pretty deep. He ignored the pain, and staggered to his feet. No! He refused to die, and let him get away with the horrible deed he had committed! Rasping, he glared upon the beast and charged at him once more, soon spinning like he was in a tornado.

The monster stumbled backwards with a snarl, and spat out " Look at you, acting like you cared about the boy! I did you a favor, fool! That little brat was nothing more than a liability-" He was cut off as Galaxia impaled his right eye, and he let out a horrible scream of agony that made the knight want to laugh at his pain. But, he didn't because Kirby wouldn't want to see that side of him. So, he settled with a vicious smile that would've made anyone else soil themselves from terror.

"No, he wasn't a liability you son of a _bitch_! He was my _son!_ " He roared, soon having to dodge the portals that spat out a large beam of pure energy. That would've vaporized him had it hit, and it's a good thing Meta Knight was a fast flier. He had to fly upwards to dodge more of them, and even though he was getting tired he refused to give up! He wasn't going to roll over and die until he was dead at his feet!

Hacking, slashing and showing no mercy had Magolor slowly realizing that he wouldn't leave this battle alive. But, no matter...even though he was unable to conquer the universe he was still able to kill the knight on the inside. And the fact of that had him laughing. Hysterically. Meta Knight froze, and he started to tremble with fresh rage. How...how dare he?! He was laughing like this was no big deal! He couldn't believe it! He was painfully torn out of his thoughts as Magolor suddenly rushed inside a portal, and then smashed into the masked being with the force of a train. Spinning towards the ground, he smashed into it face first with a crack. Come to find out, it was half of his mask that had flew off. He groaned as his vision spun, and he also saw stars as well.

Slowly and in visible agony, he pulled himself to his feet although he was starting to go into shock because of the blood loss. 'N-No...I...will...not...faint...' He thought, blinking rapidly and taking deep breaths. He had to jump away from his energy orbs, and he quickly rushed towards the monster with a snarl. Much to his shock, Magolor held two dark versions of his own sword! He twisted and dodged, but he had to bite back a cry as the slash of the last swipe cut across his back. Staggering forward, he almost fell flat on his face as pain tore through him. Feeling blood run down his back, he huffed and started coughing. After he was finished, blood bubbled out of his throat and ran down from his mouth. He wiped it away, and he wondered after the battle was finished if he would be able to join his son in death. But fate wouldn't allow him to, for he had reasons to stay.

Magolor still had steam although he was starting to slow down as well, and the monster was breathing heavily. Meta Knight had to fly about as the flaming dragons tried to burn him, then yelled in surprise as he was sucker punched. Smashing into the ground once more, he found it even more difficult to stand. Oh dear Nova! This was one of the most intense battles he had ever been in...shaking himself, he held a bloody Galaxia at Magolor.

Blinking the sweat and blood out of his eyes, he saw Dedede and Bandanna Dee attacking Magolor now. He realized that they were buying the knight some time to breathe and gather a bit of strength, and he felt grateful for it. After the monster was finished with his new beam like attack, Meta Knight felt a bit better as he dodged the massive shockwave of ice. The other two had to dodge another sword attack, and finally the last attack came as everything was flipped upside down. The trio yelled in shock as they smashed onto the floor with a groan, due to being slightly dizzy.

"Oww...that..really hurt.." Dedede groaned as he sat up, grabbing at his shoulder. Hissing in pain, the trio stood up and glared at Magolor. The other two then looked at Meta Knight and nodded, telling him that he could deliver the death blow. Even though half of his mask was on him, he looked quite intimidating as his wings flared out. Rushing towards Magolor, the monster could only watch what happened next like it was in slow motion as the knight's sword slashed downwards and impaled him right in the Master Crown. It went down from the crown and into his skull, and the monster screamed as the most horrific pain ripped into him. Pulling Galaxia out, Meta Knight then stabbed him again. And again. And again. After a few stabs, the Halcandran collapsed with a sickening thud with blood gushing out and hitting the knight.

Meta Knight stared coldly as Magolor's eyes met his, and the Halcandran saw no pity. He let out a warped laugh, then with the last of his breath he hissed out "You may have killed me...but I still won after all..." His eyes shifted over to the body of Kirby, and the dark being smiled viciously as the life left him.

At last, the battle was over. Slowly turning towards Kirby after he put Galaxia away, the knight stumbled towards the boy. He felt the adrenaline start to wear off, and the pain slammed into him. Grinding his teeth together, he finally made it to the child. Swallowing, he picked him up gently and wiped the blood and grime off of his face. "Kirby...I'm so sorry...please forgive me." He whispered, holding him closely.

He may have won this battle...but the cost of winning it was simply too high for him to savor it.

* * *

Slowly returning to awareness after that memory of defeating that traitor with the king and Bandanna Dee, Meta Knight looked inside Kirby's little domed house. Everything was still in place before that adventure, before he lost the child he considered a son. He should've felt pain and anger, but he felt so empty. Of course, it had been six months since that horrific day. He had wondered why fate had to be so cruel to take a sweet, innocent little boy that had done nothing to deserve the death he suffered. Smiling bitterly underneath his mask, the knight knew fate could be such a cruel thing. Shaking himself out of those thoughts, he turned around and shut the door.

Unfolding his wings, he shot off into the air and allowed himself to go anywhere with the guidance of the wind. He soon landed onto a hill, where Kirby had been buried underneath his favorite apple tree. Meta Knight heard a rumble of thunder, and it felt like it was going to rain because of the crispness in the air. Turning to his left, he was slightly surprised to see Bandanna Dee at the foot of Kirby's grave. The Waddle Dee had tears running down his face, but he squeaked in shock as he saw the masked warrior.

"O-Oh my goodness! H-Hello sir." He hiccuped, wiping the tears away. "I-I can't believe...he's gone." His brown eyes looked over at him, but the knight didn't say a word. "Gosh darn it, Meta Knight! Kirby wouldn't want you to shove everyone away! He was my best friend, and your adopted son! He would want you to live, to be a hero for this land! He loved you like a father, and this is how you act?! Moping around won't bring him back, it will just make you go to the grave faster! Don't let his sacrifice be for nothing!" He said hotly, his eyes burning with anger before he ran off towards the castle.

Those words felt like someone had dunked him into cold water, and the knight knew the Waddle Dee was right. After quietly admitting that to himself, he felt a wave of peace and acceptance for Kirby's death. As the wind blew, he could almost feel the warmth of the child hugging him. Almost like he was letting him know everything will be alright, that life goes on. He knew he would see the child again, once it was his turn to go to the afterlife. By him living to a ripe old age or by battle, he was sure that Kirby would be waiting for him with a happy smile.

But until then, he was going to live and protect this land...just like he would've done.


End file.
